NORTH ENGLISH – Rapid intensification.
It’s what can happen this time of year down south, when a tropical weather system gets out over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
It can leap from a tropical storm to a category 4 monster hurricane in a matter of hours.
We may be seeing something like that happening with the Montezuma Braves football team these last two weeks.
Friday night, Sept. 18, they left some bruins in ruins, scoring 42 unanswered points against a 3-0 English Valleys Bears football team in less than 10 minutes of the first quarter.
The Braves, a blend of young, strong and quick down linemen and experienced and talented “skill position” players, are morphing into a catastrophic nightmare for their opponents.
The final in this one was 49-12 for the sixth-ranked (Class 8) Braves, taking their record out to 4-0.
Quarterback Eddie Burgess threw four touchdown passes – to four different receivers – in the first half.
Burgess ran for two touchdowns and Kodie Strong ran for one.
The Braves converted three English Valleys turnovers into touchdowns in the first quarter.
“Our boys played really well,” Montezuma Coach Pat O’Brien said.
Montezuma’s mission was to clog the cutback lanes against the Bears’ Beau Flander, who O’Brien called the best in the district with that skill.
Montezuma had been giving up some long cutback runs, but showed signs of improving in that area in last week’s win at New London.
Coming in, Flander had rushed for 669 yards, an 11.3 per carry average, and 12 touchdowns.
Against Montezuma: 14 carries for 25 yards.
An English Valleys team that had been scoring 51 points a game rushed 28 times for 102 yards, and completed five of 15 pass attempts for 74 yards.
“We still have room for growth, but our defense did play well,” O’Brien said.
Montezuma’s defense put a lot of defenders in Flander’s way. Matt Karadios, a quick 160-pound freshman in the middle of Montezuma’s defense, may have been the disruption that led to some low snaps by the Bears.
Brian Diaz had an active game on defense, too. He led the Braves with 6.0 tackles, including 2.0 for lost yardage.
The Braves’ defense stuffed the Bears’ first possession. A near block of the English Valleys punt set up Montezuma on the Bears’ 35-yard line. The Braves were quickly in the end zone on a seven-yard run by Burgess.
Montezuma pressured quarterback Cole Stephenson when he threw, and the Braves’ Connor Van Zee had tight downfield coverage against Bears receiver Kaden Hall.
Strong scored on a 20-yard run, and moments later timed his break and intercepted a pass to set up another score. Burgess ran it over from six yards out, and Owen Cook booted the third of seven straight PAT bullseyes.
“Our offense did a great job of capitalizing on turnovers!” O’Brien said. “And Coach Coach (Josh) Kriegel’s special teams did a fantastic job putting our defense in great field position.”
After another three-and-out, Burgess hit Cole Watts with a 38-yard scoring strike. “Coach (Caleb) Smith did a great job getting our offensive line ready to play and focus on winning the battle up front,” O’Brien said.
The Bears made a first down, then fumbled and Strong recovered.
Burgess launched a rainbow for Trey Shearer, the ball covering an estimated 50 yards on the fly of a 70-yard touchdown play. Burgess also passed seven yards to Strong for a touchdown, Strong’s second of the game.
A low snap led to a third Bears turnover, and Burgess hooked up with Watts for a 27-yard score. Cook’s kick made it 49-0 – with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
Stephenson passed for one English Valleys touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half, and ran for one late in the fourth quarter.
“Overall it was a good win,” O’Brien said. “But it’s time to focus on a very physical Moravia team.”
UP NEXT – The Braves host Moravia at Badger-Gabriel Field on Friday, Sept. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Stats vs. English Valleys
Passing – Eddie Burgess was 7-for-14 for 223 yards and four touchdowns.
Rushing – Burgess 10-98 and two touchdowns; Kodie Strong 3-33 and one touchdown; Brian Diaz 3-17, Connor Van Zee 1-0.
Receiving – Cole Watts 2-90 and two touchdowns; Trey Shearer 2-90 and one touchdown; Kodie Strong 2-34 and one touchdown; Joey Kercheval 1-0.
Tackles – Diaz 6.0 (2.0 for loss); Burgess 5.0 (1.0), Matt Karadios 3.5 (1.5); Van Zee 3.5, Joey Kercheval 3.5, C. Watts 3.0. Masin Shearer 2.5, Strong 1.5 (1.0), Brady Ogan 1.0, Tod Geiger 1.0 (1.0), T. Shearer 0.5.
Fumble recoveries – Strong 1, Karadios 1.
Interception – Strong.
Kickoff returns – M. Shearer 1-8, C. Watts 1-8.
Punt returns – T. Shearer 1-5.
Kicking – Owen Cook 8 kickoffs for 288 yards and four touchbacks; 7-7 on PATs and 0-1 on field goals.